"Shohei Ohtani Effect" Explodes Nationwide! Tokyo Dome Tickets for Classic Baseball Game Skyrocket

After Shohei Ohtani officially declared his participation with the Japanese Samurai team in the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), ticket prices in Japan immediately spiked. Resale prices for Tokyo Dome events have surged across the board, with some tickets increasing more than 20-fold from their face value, peaking at 550,000 yen. With the official first lottery phase about to start, the frenzy among fans to buy tickets is only getting underway.

Los Angeles Dodgers' two-way Japanese star Shohei Ohtani has reignited Japan’s already heated ticket market by announcing his return to the Japanese Samurai team for the WBC in March next year. Tickets for Tokyo Dome have seen a wild surge on resale sites, far exceeding fans’ expectations.

When the priority lottery channel opened on November 28 for Mastercard holders, a flood of applicants poured in within minutes, with the system even indicating "wait time over 1 hour," demonstrating the intense competition for tickets.

Data from multiple major resale platforms show that outfield reserved seats originally priced at 7,000 yen have been marked up to 150,000 yen; SSS reserved seats originally costing 34,000 yen have reached a staggering 550,000 yen. Additionally, Sports Hochi reported that first-base side infield reserved seats were listed at 500,000 yen per ticket; C-zone infield tickets, originally 6,500 yen, were inflated to 140,000 yen, a 22-fold increase.

This year, the Japanese Samurai team aims to defend their title at the Classic. After Ohtani confirmed his participation, market enthusiasm quickly reflected in soaring ticket prices. Although other major league players like Yoshinobu Yamamoto have yet to officially confirm their attendance, the "Ohtani effect" alone has caused ticket prices to spiral out of control.

To handle the massive demand for tickets, the official Japanese ticketing platform will launch the first phase of priority lottery sales through Lawson Ticket starting December 1, which is expected to trigger another wave of ticket-buying frenzy.